


I Search For You

by SummerRaine14



Series: Bughead Tattoos [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Anniversary, Based on an aesthetic, Broken Up, F/M, Flashbacks, Tattoos, famous hollywood couple, idk what this is tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 12:20:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17345117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerRaine14/pseuds/SummerRaine14
Summary: The Jughead that stood only five feet away from her, yet still managed to be in another world.The Jughead that she loved. The Jughead that she lost.The Jughead she couldn't think about right now.





	I Search For You

**Author's Note:**

> So what feels like actually a life time ago, but was literally only in September, @shrugheadjonesthethird sent me an aesthetic and asked me to write a one shot based on it. This took me a while to write, mostly done on the city bus after work at 10 pm. 
> 
> A thank you to Kayla, @endlesswriter03, for taking a look over this for me. Much appreciated!

Betty had remembered the night as though it happened only seconds ago.   
  
Months later and the words still rung in her ears like they were being spoken as she thought them.    
  
People she'd been with, hugged, kissed, and even slept with, still unable to erase the image of him from her mind.    
  
She looked for him in every place she went. Walking down the streets of Manhattan, as she stepped into the old library that was once  _ their _ spot. He was the only person she wanted to see when a post popped up in her notification box from social media. Betty was lost, and she always found herself when he was around.    
  
After all, they were Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones.   
  
The IT couple of Hollywood. They had met filming a noir romance movie years ago, both well-known stars who had made their marks in the industry by that point. However, another thing the two had in common was the lack of their private lives in the media.     
  
They had kept themselves quiet, so nearly a year after their movie had been released and the two showed up on the Oscars red carpet together, the entire world were left in awe.    
  
Of course, there were speculations of romance long before this. They were two young, single, and intelligent stars who lit up the big screen with a love story that had viewers on the edge of their seats. But until then, they had been just that, speculation. This was a first, for each of them, but also as a couple. Everyone had thought they'd end up together, so when Betty's tell-all interview with Vanity Fair was released, the world was once again left surprised.    
  
Today was their anniversary, no one but them knew what the date meant, so everyone would expect them to live their lives like normal. But they couldn't, not today.    
  
Her day planner was clear, though not including the relentless nagging from her best friend and fellow actress, Veronica Lodge, to go out to a bar and 'meet some hotties'. She told Veronica the same thing she always did, 'V, you know how busy I am.’   
  
Well today, busy meant something entirely different than filming for a new movie or doing press shoots. No, today busy meant walking into the tattoo parlor just outside of Manhattan that was quiet and secure enough that no paparazzi would catch her.    
  
Betty had a plan. She made the appointment with the parlor two months ago, when her heartbreak was still raw. Her entire body still quivered at the sound of his name.    
  


She knew their anniversary would be coming up, and on that exact day, they had two opening slots. The same time, different artists. It gave her time to change her mind, or even just think it through so she didn't make irrational decisions.    
  
Yet here she was, two months later, on the day that used to be theirs, standing outside of a small cement building and nearly crying at the reality in front of her.    
  
After today, she would forever have a permanent reminder of her and Jughead.    
  
Right in the center, between her shoulder blades, a small typewriter sat on top a book. Jughead was an old soul, well beyond his years with intelligence, and his favourite thing in the world besides acting (and once Betty) was writing on an old typewriter he got from the will of his grandfather's death.    
  
Though he was an incredible actor, she always thought he had gone iinto the wrong profession. Jughead was meant for greater things than playing a love interest in a noir or horror film.    
  
He was meant to share his story, the book he'd written of his high school years, and show the entire world what the man could do with his words.    
  
Betty was thankful for his acting, of course, as it's how they met, but she always hoped one day he'd gain the courage to release the book.    
  
The tattoo was more than a physical reminder of them. But also a reminder of who he was, what he could do, and how effortlessly he changed her entire life.    
  
Betty entered inside, a moment of uncertainty playing in her mind as she slowly glided towards the desk with a woman who's radiating pink hair intimidated her.    
  
"Uh, I'm Betty. I have a 2 o'clock with Sweet Pea?"    
  
"Oh yes!" The woman smiled, "he's just out back having a smoke break, but will be back in five minutes or less if you'd like to take a seat," the woman pointed to the leather seats that sat along the cement wall and window, a small black coffee table with books upon books on top of it.    
  
She took a seat, regaining her posture as she sat uncomfortably on the worn leather.    
  
She picked up a book and nearly gasped at the beautiful artwork on the inside. Countless tattoos that covered the bodies of others and she envied the courage of those who could get tattoos in such places that they would nearly always show.    
  
Her eyes had been glued to one of a quill pen along someone's rib cage when the doorbell rang and her head bounced up.    
  
Pausing, completely out of breath, Betty managed to speak one word.    
  
"Jughead."    
  
His eyes were ocean blue and she felt like she was drowning. Watching him as tears clouded the emerald green of her own.    
  
"Betty."    
  
She hadn't heard her name fall from his lips in so long that the complete rightness she felt at it, sent shock waves throughout her.    
  
"Betty Cooper?" Her eyes didn't move from Jughead to the male voice coming from behind her, "I'm Sweet Pea." Instantly, she snapped out of her world and came back to reality.    
  
She was getting a tattoo and she was getting a tattoo for him.    
  
She was getting a tattoo for Jughead. The Jughead who had made years of her life the best she could ever remember.  The Jughead who made the last few months the hardest of her career as she fought back tears and pain with every movement through a filming process or a simple interview.    
  
The Jughead that stood only five feet away from her, yet still managed to be in another world.    
  
The Jughead that she loved. The Jughead that she lost.    
  
The Jughead she couldn't think about right now.   
  
She walked away, following the other man, Sweet Pea, behind a pair of black wooden doors.    
  
"Your first?" He asked as he set up his station.    
  
Betty had been stuck in her thoughts, "your first tattoo?" He clarified when she looked at him like he wore ten heads.    
  
Oh. "Oh," She said out loud, "Yeah."    
  
"Well I have to tell you, you picked a great design for your first," He continued speaking as he patted on the leather bed for her rest upon. "It's beautiful with a lot of details."    
  
She sat on the bed, "here's a towel to cover yourself with when you take your shirt and bra off," He handed her a soft white towel, "I'll step out there while you do that, just call me back in when you're ready."   
  
So Betty did just that. She slipped off her top and bra, and set the towel around her front, before laying down face front onto the bed. "I'm ready," She said in a voice louder than she liked using and waited for him to come back in.    
  
Within seconds, he was there.    
  
But she wished it was another him, who was only a set of doors away from her, and she wished she could be with him right now. God, she wished she could be with him forever.    
  
The first collide of the needle against her skin sent a shock feeling through her body, but she became immune to the pain almost instantly.    
  
Though, years of a razor blade against the porcelain skin of her thighs could have prepared her for this.    
  
She laid there, not flinching at any pain, not feeling any pain.    
  
Well, no physical pain anyway.    
  
Betty waited as the noise stopped and the sting of a needle along her bare skin disappeared. He was done, but she didn't want him to be done.    
  
Although unsure of why he was here, Betty as certain Jughead would still be outside those doors, for whatever reason he had.    
  
She wondered if he knew what today was. She knew it was stupid.    
  
Jughead had changed as their relationship progressed, but there was no way he could change that much.   
  
He was the first man to tell her he loved her and mean it, the first to respect her privacy as not only a star but a person. He was the first person she trusted her deepest secrets with.    
  
But more than that, he was the man who woke her up on the two anniversaries they did share together with kisses along the neck and a rose for every reason he loved her.    
  
1000 white roses flooded her Manhattan apartment by the time the day came to an end at the stroke of midnight.    


"What do you think?" Sweet Pea asked, looking at Betty as she stared into the tall mirror on the wall.   
  
She gasped at its beauty. The ink on her skin a spitting image of the typewriter who's keys kept Betty awake at all hours of the night. The scripture on the side,the title of a book, the exact same as the first book Betty saw Jughead reading on set.   
  
It was the first time they spoke outside of the job, and years had passed but she still remembered it so clearly.    
  
\---  
  
_He was reading Beloved by Toni Morrison and she was shocked at how a man who presented himself like the Jughead Jones did, could be interested in such a book._ __  
__  
_"It's a great read," She smiled from her chair as the stylist continued to do her hair._ __  
__  
_Jughead looked up at her and smiled, "I know," He closed the book and gave her his full attention, "It's not my first time reading it."_ __  
__  
_"Never would have pegged you for a classic novel kind of guy," Betty admitted, leaning forward after her stylist finished the last curl of her hair._ __  
__  
_"And what kind of guy would you have pegged me for, Ms. Cooper?" There was a smirk dancing on his lips, and Betty would have been lying if she didn't feel a strong attraction to the way he looked at her right now._ __  
__  
_No cameras, no scripted lines, it was just them and what she said next would change everything. "Like you're the kind of guy I want to get to know."_ __  
__  
__"Well, maybe I want to get to know you too."   
  
\----  
  
Tears were in her eyes as she came back from the memory, this was real, and somehow, it felt like all she had left of Jughead. “It’s amazing,” Betty whispered, choking back tears. “Thank you.”

****

“There’s nothing better than seeing someone’s face after their first tattoo,” Sweet Pea smiled, “my secretary will take the payment, but before you go,” he grabbed a paper from the shelf and looked back at her, “this is a step-by-step of how you should take care of the tattoo, come back within six months and you can get a free touch up, if it starts looking infected, come back to us immediately.” 

****

“Okay,” she sighed heavily, “thank you, again.”

****

Betty felt her nerves building up as she walked back into the main entrance, she had no idea what Jughead was getting tattooed, but hers had taken an hour, and if he hadn’t left already, then chances were they were going to end up seeing each other again. 

****

Betty fought for months to keep her image the same, a well-mannered actress, never failing to smile for the cameras and never allowing her emotions to affect her job. But then he was there, mere feet away for the first time in months, and everything was falling apart at the seams. 

****

She had just finished paying for her tattoo when his laugh echoed through the room and her heart dropped in her chest. Unable to face him again, Betty went to leave the building but was stopped at the flashing lights and screams of paparazzi. 

****

“Um,” Betty was irritated, and it was clear in her voice, “is there a back door I can go through?” 

****

“Betts,” her entire body froze when her nickname fell from his lips and she almost would have rathered running into a herd of paparazzi than stand here with the man who broke her heart on the day that was supposed to be their day. 

****

On the day, that to her, would always be their fucking day. 

****

“I came in a different car, didn’t want to risk the attention, we can go out the back door and I can give you a ride,” he was handed back his receipt before turning to Betty, “my driver can take your car, and I can drop you off.” 

****

It was terrifying, the idea of being alone with Jughead, God, the idea of being  _ around  _ Jughead at all, but it felt like her only option. “Uh, yeah, okay,” she answered, her head down and body shaking. 

****

Jughead peeked out the back door before giving the all clear and walking outside. Betty had seen Jughead’s car before, a million and one times, but she hadn’t since it ended and all of their memories driving through the city came flooding back to her. 

****

\---

****

_ “Jug,” Betty looked up at him, the dead silence of their car ride getting to her, “I’m scared of being away for a few weeks.” _

****

_ He squeezed her hand and sighed, “No matter what happens, I love you, and these few weeks are going to be hard, but we’ll get through it.” _

****

_ She nodded before looking away from him, “I know.” _

****

\---

****

“Betty?” She snapped out of the memory and looked up at Jughead, tears clouding her vision as she stepped inside the car. 

****

They drove in silence, and it gave Betty the opportunity to do something she hadn’t in a long time. The last time she wasn’t the one driving a car for anything other than an award ceremony, was with Jughead. It felt nice to be in the passenger seat, enjoying the world around her, watching as people walked and laughed, they looked so free, so calm and happy. 

****

She hadn’t felt that way in so long, and she knew more than she’d like to admit that the only one who made her feel that way was the man beside her. 

****

“You always did enjoy looking out the window,” Jughead’s voice was soft, and his eyes didn’t leave the road as she looked back at him and smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time. She continued looking at him for a little while, silence remaining as they drove through Manhattan and onto the country roads where Betty’s house was. 

****

The ride was coming to a close, and against her best judgement, Betty asked the question that had been haunting her since she saw him walk into that parlor. “What’s your new tattoo?”

****

His entire demeanor changed as he took in her question, but still, his eyes remained focused on the streets in front of him. Jughead had always prided himself on his honesty with Betty, and how the two managed to find a way to trust each other with everything that they were, but their relationship ended for a reason, and he found himself unsure if he could be honest with her now.

****

Once the car came to a stop in her parking lot, Jughead finally let his eyes meet Betty’s. She had gotten to the front door when Jughead stepped out of the car and called after her, “Betty.”

****

She turned around, masking the tears in her eyes and looked at him, “What?” 

****

“You asked me what my tattoo was,” he took a deep breath and walked closer to her, “and now I’m telling you, it’s Betty.” 

****

She stood there in silence as he walked over to her, standing directly in front of her and placing his hand on her cheek to wipe away the fallen tears. “We’ve been apart for so long now, that just standing here talking almost feels wrong, but we’re us, and I didn’t know how much I needed to tell you this until I saw you there, today of all fucking days. I told you once that I would love you no matter what, but I am standing here now to tell you that I will always care for you, no matter how little we talk, or how much time has passed. Because you, Betty Cooper, are a part of me, you always have been, and you always will be.” 

****

~  _ fin  _ ~ 

**Author's Note:**

> I post even more sad stuff on my tumblr, come cry with me @srainebuggie


End file.
